Lesson 10 - Grammar 2 - Passé composé (auxiliary être)
| Examples: |
|---|
| Je suis allé à Versailles. |
In this chapter, we are going to study the ‘passé composé’ of the verbs conjugated with the auxiliary être (to be).
Only a few verbs are conjugated with the auxiliary ‘être’, but they are frequent in occurrence.
Here is a list of the most commonly used ones and the past participle of each:
| Infinitive / Infinitif | Past participle / Participe passé | English / Anglais |
|---|---|---|
| aller | allé | to go |
| arriver | arrivé | to arrive |
| descendre | descendu | to go down |
| devenir | devenu | to become |
| entrer | entré | to enter |
| monter | monté | to go up |
| mourir | mort | to die |
| naître | né | to be born |
| partir | parti | to leave |
| passer | passé | to go by, to come by |
| rentrer | rentré | to come back, to go back |
| rester | resté | to stay |
| retourner | retourné | to return |
| revenir | revenu | to come back |
| sortir | sorti | to go out |
| tomber | tombé | to fall |
| venir | venu | to come |
| redescendre | redescendu | to go down again |
| remonter | remonté | to go up again |
| repartir | reparti | to leave again |
| ressortir | ressorti | to go out again |
| retomber | retombé | to fall again |
Here is the Passé Composé of the verb arriver:
1. SP + être + past participle
| French / Français | English / Anglais |
|---|---|
| je suis arrivé |
I arrived |
| tu es arrivé | you arrived (singular) |
| il est arrivé (elle, on) | he arrived (she, one) |
| nous sommes arrivés | we arrived |
| vous êtes arrivés | you arrived (plural) |
| ils sont arrivés (elles) | they arrived |
2. SP + ne + être + pas + past participle
| French / Français | English / Anglais |
|---|---|
| je ne suis pas arrivé |
I didn't arrive |
| tu n'es pas arrivé | you didn't arrive (singular) |
| il n'est pas arrivé (elle, on) | he didn't arrive (she, one) |
| nous ne sommes pas arrivés | we didn't arrive |
| vous n'êtes pas arrivés | you didn't arrive (plural) |
| ils ne sont pas pas arrivés (elles) | they didn't arrive |
3. être + SP + past participle?
| French / Français | English / Anglais |
|---|---|
| suis-je arrivé? |
did I arrive? |
| es-tu arrivé? | did you arrive? (singular) |
| est-il arrivé? (elle, on) | did he arrive? (she, one) |
| sommes-nous arrivés? | did we arrive? |
| êtes-vous arrivés? | did you arrive? (plural) |
| sont-ils arrivés? (elles) | did they arrive? |
4. ne + être + SP + pas + past participle?
| French / Français | English / Anglais |
|---|---|
| ne suis-je pas arrivé? |
didn't I arrive? |
| n'es-tu pas arrivé? | didn't you arrive? (singular) |
| n'est-il pas arrivé? (elle, on) | didn't he arrive? (she, one) |
| ne sommes-nous pas arrivés? | didn't we arrive? |
| n'êtes-vous pas arrivés? | didn't you arrive? (plural) |
| ne sont-ils pas arrivés? (elles) | didn't they arrive? |
